The Labour Movement In Japan

The Labour Movement in Japan

Japanese Industrialisation got underway in the decade following the Meiji Restoration of 1868 (Abegglen 1971). This period marked the end of feudalism in Japan and her entry into the world as an industrial nation. The first industrial enterprises were founded by the Japanese government, but by the 1890's, had passed into the hands of select, powerful industrial families. Japan's transition from a primarily agrarian and inward society to an industrial nation placed demands on the relationship between employers and employees. New forms of work organization accompanied the adoption of western originated technology and these required a reworkng of the authority relationships in Japanese society.

Lifetime employment as a form of linkage between employers and employees can first be seen in an industrial setting after World War one. Western mass manufacturing equipment in Japan demanded a different set of skills from workers than the craft work with which th...